Signing templates

A signing template is a letter body, ready to reuse. Author once, send to many clients. Templates power the bulk of recurring work — 1040 engagement letters, 1120-S engagement letters, audit representation letters, and scope statements.

Where to find it

Open E-Sign from the sidebar, then click the Templates tab. You’ll see a grid of cards, one per template.

Each card shows:

• Name and description
• Entity type chip (Individual, Business, Trust, Nonprofit, or All entity types)
• System badge (read-only) or Custom marker
• Last updated date
• Kebab menu: Open, Duplicate, Delete (custom only)

Click a card to open the template in the editor (read-only for system templates, editable otherwise).

Filters

Above the grid:

The result count caption is N template(s).

How to create a template

Three paths:

The + New template page uses the same letter editor as engagement letters, plus three template-level fields:

• Name — required, shows in the picker.
• Description — optional, shows on the card.
• Entity type — All entity types, Individual, Business, Trust, or Nonprofit. Used to suggest the right template when authoring a letter (the picker pre-filters to matching templates for the client’s entity type).

Variables work the same as in engagement letters — {{Client Name}}, {{Tax Year}}, etc. fill in at send time.

Editing

Click the template card to open it in the editor, pre-filled with the saved content. Auto-save fires on every change. The top-bar save indicator shows Saving…, Saved, or Error.

System templates

Assure Pro ships a small set of starter templates (per service line and return type) marked System. They’re read-only — the editor opens in view-only mode for them.

To customize a system template:

1. Open the system template.
2. Kebab → Duplicate.
3. Edit the duplicate freely.

System templates exist as starting points, not for direct production use.

Cloning from the library

The platform-wide Template Library ships with curated engagement-letter templates contributed by subject-matter experts. Open Templates → Library from the sidebar:

• Browse by return type (1040, 1120-S, 1065, etc.) and entity type.
• Each library entry has a preview button.
• Click Add to my library to clone the entry into your firm’s templates.
• From there, edit freely. Updates to the library don’t propagate to your copy.

Duplicating

Card kebab → Duplicate. A copy is created instantly, named (original name) (Copy). The duplicate opens in the editor.

Use this when you want to keep an existing template untouched (because it’s referenced by sent packages) but iterate.

Deactivating vs deleting

You can’t delete system templates — they’re managed by Assure Pro.

How templates pair with the letter editor

When you start a new engagement letter (path: Author a letter), the toolbar’s Template dropdown lists:

1. Templates matching the client’s entity type (top).
2. All other templates (below).

The “matching” set narrows by entity type. If the client is an Individual, the dropdown defaults to showing Individual and All-entity-types templates first.

Picking a template loads its content into the editor. Switching templates replaces the body. Variables fill in immediately based on the client’s data.

Variables in templates

Template authors should use variables for everything that varies per client:

The harder rule: if it would be wrong for the next client, it’s a variable.

Common patterns

”Different letter for individuals vs businesses”

Create two templates, one with entity type Individual, one with entity type Business. The new-letter dropdown auto-picks the right one based on the client.

”We use the same letter every year — only the tax year changes”

Keep the template, use the {{Tax Year}} variable, and override per-package in the toolbar if the engagement’s tax year differs.

”Old template is outdated, want everyone to use the new one”

Two options:

• Replace: edit the existing template to the new content. Sent packages keep their original (snapshotted) content — no breakage. The next sent package uses the new version.
• Replace and retire: create a new template and deactivate the old one. Forces the new template to surface in the picker.

”Template list is cluttered with old or unused ones”

Toggle Show inactive OFF and Toggle inactive on each template you don’t use anymore. They disappear from the picker but stay in history. Re-enable any time.

”I need a template that includes the firm’s bank account number”

Add it as plain text — but be sure your firm is the only consumer (templates are firm-scoped). Don’t share templates externally without scrubbing. The template library entries you clone are scrubbed before publication.

Permissions

Next

• Engagement letters — authoring with the editor.
• PDFs & field placement — the alternative path.
• Recipients & signing modes — auto-add behavior.